One Night
by blueey
Summary: Shiho can't sleep and Yzak can't seem to finish his work. What is there to do for two ZAFT officials who are bored out of their minds at the nocturnal hours of the day? Rated T to be safe. YxS oneshot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam seed

Just a YzakXShiho ficcie that I wrote on a whim. Hehe. So sorry if it's OOC, Haven't really observed Yzak coz I only watched Destiny, but hope you guys enjoy anyway. Just some weird Yzak Shiho fluff. Got inspired after watching Kill Bill. ; p

A/N 1) let's just say that ZAFT houses all its employees in one building.

2) Post Destiny, I suppose. ; P

* * *

Shiho tossed and turned in her comfortable mattress, wondering why sleep was eluding her tonight. Burying herself deeper within the mountains of sheets and pillows on her bed, she shut her eyes, and willed herself not to open them; but to her annoyance, they popped open on their own about 10 minutes later.

_Must be all that stress from work today, _thought Shiho. What with all the piles of paperwork they had to do, and with an eruptive Commander Yzak Jule in the office, one could definitely say that they were over-stressed.

"Stupid…" Shiho grumbled as she turned over to look out of the window. The moon was in a perfect crescent and the stars were shimmering in clusters around it. Sighing, Shiho propped herself up using her arms and got out of bed.

_I'll just get all this stress off my back by working out, _thought Shiho, smiling to herself at her ingenious idea. Putting on a purple tank top and a pair of black shorts, she opened her drawer, feeling around for a pair of fresh socks; that done, she put them on, crossed her small but neat living room, put on her sneakers and she was good to go.

Shiho locked up her apartment and walked down the deserted corridor towards the elevator. She fidgeted restlessly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, while waiting for the elevator to come.

_What is wrong with me? _Despite being a girl, Shiho, after all, was a soldier through and through, and she was definitely not used to these bouts of hyper-ness, when she was expected to keep a cool head at all times.

_Finally! _Thought Shiho as the elevator finally came. She practically bounded into the threshold of the iron box. Once inside, she punched in the code to take her to the gym facility on the top floor.

Shiho really had no complaints to living in the apartments provided by ZAFT – although it was a little smaller than she would have liked it, although it only had a shower when she wanted a bathtub, although she would have really liked the windows to be bigger. But all these trivial thoughts were dismissed when she stepped into the gym. It took up the entire top floor, with tinted glass windows from the ceiling to the floor, giving the users a magnificent view of the city –and Aprillius 1 was definitely a pretty sight, especially at night. The gym was dark but it didn't matter much to Shiho as the moonlight provided sufficient illumination.

Moving to an empty spot- which was usually used for yoga- near the windows, Shiho started stretching, and she chuckled slightly when she saw the view of the city upside down as she touched her toes; she remembered how her father used to hold her by the ankles as a little girl and he would try to tell her that the ground was the sky and the sky was the ground.

_Those were the days…_thought Shiho, and she immediately wrinkled her nose. _Ewww….I sound so darn old._ Pushing all these strange thoughts from her mind, Shiho tried to decide what to do first. She looked around the gym – treadmill? Nah.

Weird bicycle thingy? Nope.

She scanned the room, and she saw something that made her eyes light up. Shiho had put it there a long time ago, since she moved in. It stood at a rack in the corner of the room, where the occupants of the building could put their own belongings and their personal exercise equipment, or in Dearka's case, porn magazines. Shiho walked over to it and closed her hands around the handle affectionately.

It was the katana that her grandfather gave to her.

Lifting it carefully out of the rack, her eyes scanned the katana. It had been such a long time since she had practiced her kendo that her grandfather had taught her when she was young; what with being aboard to Voltaire and having a major slacker as her partner and a workaholic and perpetually pissed Commander, it was actually no wonder she didn't have the time.

Shiho pulled the sword from the scabbard and held the katana in front of her with both hands, relishing the feel of the weight of it in her palms.

_It's been too long…_

Closing her eyes, she regulated her breathing and cleared her mind. When she was completely focused, she opened her eyes as she started her routine with a smooth swing of her sword, initiating the beautiful yet deadly dance, in the middle of a quiet night on Aprillius 1.

* * *

"Stupid old bastards…" swore Yzak as he read the report. The old men from the council just didn't know how to give him a break, did they? He shuffled through the mountain of papers on his desk, trying to find a particular document about the rebuilding of the PLANT that had been destroyed by that son of a bitch Lord Jibril.

Yzak swore again. _Where in hell could that document be?_ He ruffled his straight, platinum hair, which actually looked a bit messy for once. _Okay, calm down Jule. You know that paper is somewhere._ Yzak went through the papers on his desk again.

No document. Crying out in frustration, Yzak leaned back- violently, causing the poor piece of furniture to creak loudly - in his chair and folded his arms. He looked every bit the pouting child who had been deprived of ice cream. In this case, however, Yzak was deprived of sleep, and a certain very important document. Yzak massaged his temples.

_Maybe I'll just go take a short break._ Yzak got out of his chair, changed out of his pajamas and into a comfortable t-shirt and shorts, and walked out of the door. _Aprillius 1 should be quite a sight on this clear summer night, _thought Yzak, and what better place to see the sights than the gym at the top floor?

Little did Yzak know, he was going to get more eye candy than just looking at Aprillius 1 and its pretty lights at night.

* * *

Yzak tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator zoomed towards the top floor.

Ding! The doors slid open, and Yzak walked out. As he neared the entrance of the gym, his soldier's instinct kicked in, and he had a feeling in his gut that he wasn't the only one who was around at this time of the night.

_Could it be an intruder?_

Stealthily, he crept towards the entrance. He pressed himself close to the wall, hoping that the shadows would hide him. He tensed, ready to jump in to action if the individual was a threat.

Squinting, he looked at the figure, silhouetted against the moonlight. For the time being, he would just hide in the darkness, as the figure did not show any intentions of attacking him. She seemed to be wielding some kind of sword. _Very gracefully, in fact, _thought Yzak.

_What the-! Where the hell did that come from?_

Yzak focused on observing the figure again. As his vision adjusted to the dark, he finally saw who it was.

Soft brown hair, swishing gently as she fought her invisible opponent.

Determined purple eyes, completely focused, reflected on the gleaming surface of the deadly blade.

Slim lanky body, almost like a feline's, with muscles rippling right under the skin, exuding an aura of strength and power as she moved across the floor.

And one of the two people who dared talk back to him when he lost his temper. Oh yes, there was no mistaking it.

Shiho Hahnenfuss.

When Yzak finally realized this, he looked at her dumbstruck, when, suddenly, he saw her weapon flying through the air, in a perfect collision course with –

His head.

Yzak frantically dodged the weapon; it missed his head by centimeters! It even took a few strands of his hair with it! Drawing his gaze away from the menacing looking weapon, Yzak found Shiho on the floor in a crouch, her arm still outstretched from throwing her weapon and she was looking very dangerous indeed. She had this menacing glint in her eyes that Yzak only saw when she was going into battle.

Yzak looked straight at her and she stared back. After a few moments, her mouth opened in shock.

"Co-commander!" exclaimed Shiho, getting up slowly. Yzak had to force perverted thoughts out of his head as he saw how Shiho's tank top clung to her perfect figure, or when he saw how her pale skin was set off by the moonlight.

He cleared his throat. "Hahnenfuss." He acknowledged. Shiho jogged over and pulled out her katana from its precarious position beside Yzak's head.

"I apologize. I didn't know it was you. I thought it was an intruder," said Shiho, smiling at Yzak sheepishly.

"It's fine. I thought you were an intruder too when I sensed another person when I came here," said Yzak casually. Shiho nodded in response.

"Being in the military can make you paranoid, huh?" said Shiho, her expression contemplative as she stared out to the city. "Hey, I don't mean to pry, but what are you doing here at this hour?" Yzak let out a frustrated sigh that made Shiho look at him, amused. It was always fun to watch Yzak lose his cool. It was just one of those perks you get when you're Commander Yzak Jule's subordinate.

"Just came up here to take a breather from the work I had to do for the council," said Yzak gruffly. "What are YOU doing here? If I recall correctly you don't have to slave away for a bunch of old farts."

Shiho laughed lightly at Yzak's reference towards the council members. "But I have to slave away for you," Shiho said, making Yzak raise his brow questioningly.

"I thought you already handed up the reports I asked for today," said Yzak. To his utter annoyance, Shiho burst out laughing until tears sprouted from her eyes.

"Hahnenfuss! Explain yourself!" roared Yzak, his face scrunched up in anger. If there was anything Yzak Jule hated, it was being laughed at.

Shiho managed to give him a coherent answer between desperate gulps of air and bouts of giggling. "Sorry, couldn't resist. Haha…Just feeling hyper tonight and I couldn't sleep…" Yzak sighed, pressing a palm to his forehead. He had definitely never seen Shiho in this state before. Sure, he had spent time with Shiho and Dearka, but that was mostly during their lunch break, or over a cup of coffee after work at the ZAFT headquarters' cafeteria; at the workplace, where they were bound by strict rules and etiquette.

Now, he was witnessing a different side to Shiho: her playful, teenage side, hidden behind all her military training. They were, after all, barely out of their teens. He smiled inwardly. This Shiho was rather adorable.

Shiho's laughing fit had finally subsided and she looked up at Yzak to find him staring blankly out of the windows.

_I wonder what's got into him. He's been working quite hard this few days. Maybe he deserves a break, _thought Shiho sympathetically as she caught the dark bags beneath Yzak's attractive eyes.

_For a guy with weird hair he's sure got nice eyes, _thought Shiho. When she first met Yzak, she had a feeling that his penetrating gaze could see right through her soul.

"Commander," said Shiho lightly, jolting Yzak out of his reverie.

"What."

"How bout we go chill out? I know a good Gelati store round the corner which is opened 24 hours," said Shiho. "You look like you could use some unwinding." She smiled up at Yzak.

Yzak contemplated her offer. No harm done with going out for a quick bite of ice cream, right? Besides, he didn't feel like facing the Mount Everest of documents on his table right now.

"It's late, and both of us have work tomorrow," said Yzak stonily. He smirked when he saw that he had succeeded in aggravating her.

"Oh come on!" said Shiho, throwing her hands into the air, exasperated. Yzak backed away warily as she was still holding her katana.

"Watch it Hahnenfuss!" he yelled.

"Sorry." She continued ranting. "Everyone enjoys ice cream! Besides, it's summer, and it's no fun eating gelati on your own," Shiho pouted. Suddenly she smirked.

"Unless, the great Commander Yzak Jule is afraid of going for some midnight ice cream 'coz his mummy told him that ice cream is baaaaddddd for him," teased Shiho. A vein throbbed in Yzak's temple and he balled his hands into fists.

"I'm not scared of eating ice cream in the middle of this frickin night!" shouted Yzak. His face held an expression of complete vexation, but inside he was smiling.

_I knew he could never turn down a challenge, arrogant bastard, _Shiho thought.

"It's settled then. Do you mind waiting a while? I feel like changing out of this sweaty shirt," said Shiho, pulling at her tank top.

Grunt.

Shiho took that as a yes. They rode the elevator down to her floor and walked to her apartment. Yzak stood awkwardly outside her apartment as she opened the door and went inside.

"You can come in if you want, but I'm only going to be a while!" Yzak heard another door snapping shut. Shaking his head, he pushed the front door open and plopped himself down on the couch. Looking around the room, he was surprised to see a piano against the wall and a guitar beside it. The piano was not covered and there were several pieces of sheet music laid out on the little wooden structure that behind the lid, (A/N : I don't know what it's called, but it's the thing that you put your music books on. Hehe.) indicating that Shiho had played the piano recently.

Yzak looked at her questioningly. "You play the piano and the guitar?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Shiho had surprised him twice tonight: first with her sword fighting and her spontaneous laughing and now with the piano and the guitar leaning against the wall. There was a lot that he really didn't know about Shiho Hahnenfuss even though they worked closely with each other.

"Err…yea," said Shiho uncertainly. "Oh, but don't tell anyone that I can!" added Shiho frantically.

"Why?" Yzak was really oblivious now.

"Well, you know Sanders right? One of the technicians aboard the Voltaire?" Yzak nodded slowly. There were so many technicians that he had trouble remembering some of them.

"Well, some of the superiors got wind that she could play the piano rather well and they made her play at a few of ZAFT'S official functions," said Shiho. "And I DEFINITELY do NOT want to play at ZAFT's official functions, let alone be present."

"Right…" said Yzak, a smirk pulling at the ends of his lips. He could definitely use this for blackmail material.

"Anyway, let's go get that ice cream," said Shiho, changing the topic for fear that Yzak might come up with some evil plan that involved her if he stood there any longer. She slipped into some flip flops and walked out of the door, with Yzak trailing behind.

* * *

"Well, here we are," said Shiho as she entered a corner shop with a big colourful sign with blinking lights that said "Gelati" in bright pink letters. In fact, the entire street was filled with shops fashioned similarly, all selling sweet treats and drinks.

_I didn't know such a place existed, _thought Yzak as he looked at the brightly lit

street which was bustling with activity, even though it was already 3 in the

morning. Suddenly, Shiho poked her head out of the shop and called out to

Yzak rather loudly.

"Commander! Are you going to stand there all day?" she asked irritably, causing several passers by to give them weird looks.

"Hey, isn't that Yzak Jule, Ezaria Jule's son?"

"That must be his girlfriend! How romantic!"

Yzak sent them an almighty glare and they all went scuttling away. Stomping over to Shiho, he covered her mouth with his hand (despite her struggling) and dragged her inside the shop.

"Don't call me Commander in public!"

"Mmmmph-!"

"OWWWWWW!" Yzak gave Shiho a withering look. "You bit me!"

Shiho merely looked at him defiantly and continued looking at the myriad of flavours at the counter. Muttering explicit words that children should not hear under his breath, Yzak made his order, traumatizing the attendant in the process.

Shiho paid for her order and walked over to Yzak. "Come on, let's go. I already paid."

Yzak looked at her, his expression unreadable. Shiho stared at him, and he stared back. Shiho rolled her eyes.

"What."

"I didn't bring my wallet," replied Yzak simply.

"WHAT?"

"I don't have money on me," said Yzak, taking a bite out of his ice cream.

"Jerk," muttered Shiho as she grudgingly went to the counter to pay for Yzak's ice cream. She stomped back to him, shoving the bill in his face.

"You owe me coffee tomorrow, Commander," said Shiho, stomping past him.

"Don't call me Commander in when we're not at work," repeated Yzak, grabbing her wrist. She turned back, surprised.

"What do you want me to call you then? Mr. _Jule?" _said Shiho, emphasizing the 'Jule' in a way which ticked Yzak off.

"Yzak will do, and that's an order," growled Yzak.

"Then you can call me Shiho," said Shiho, her expression neutral. Yzak was taken aback. He didn't expect that AT ALL. He had expected Shiho to traipse off, teasing him about his name and ignoring his orders. They stood like that for a few moments, with Yzak holding on to her wrist and Shiho looking back at him.

"Err, Yzak. Can you let go now?" Yzak let go her hand like there was a pulsing current running through it.

_Her saying my name sounds…in a way, right._

"Sorry," he said, the slightest hint of a blush rising to his face. Lucky for him Shiho didn't notice it.

"Let's sit outside, the weather's good," said Shiho, exiting the shop.

"Sure, Shiho."

* * *

The next day…

Dearka walked into the cafeteria with a spring in his step. He had got on the phone with Mirilallia yesterday. His thoughts wandered off to a certain natural photographer when he spotted Shiho and Yzak at a table. Skipping over he sat down.

"Morning!"

"Hi…"

Grunt.

Dearka looked at Shiho and Yzak strangely. Yzak usually greeted him by calling him an idiot or insulting him, and Shiho would usually smile and chat to him about things.

But today both of them looked like the human equivalent of a pair of zombies. A waitress came by their table.

"Two long blacks," she said, depositing Shiho and Yzak's order.

"Long black?" asked Dearka incredulously. That stuff was strong! He watched, with his mouth open as Shiho and Yzak downed their coffee in a single gulp.

"What happened to you people? Yzak!"

"Shut up."

"Shiho!"

"…" Both Yzak and Shiho got up, leaving Dearka alone at the table.

"What got into both of them!"

* * *

Haha…it's done! Sorry for the super lame ending. Haha…just wanted to take a break from asucaga. There're too few Yzak Shiho fics out there! Haha..but considering this piece of crap o wrote, I think I murdered our beloved hot tempered commander and his forever silent subordinate. Sighs. Anyway, constructive criticism is much appreciated. I wouldn't blame you guys if you flamed…this fic…is so bad…. XD 


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